Kármán Vortex Streets near Svalbard Archipelago, Norway

Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Europe, about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. This group of islands is the northernmost part of Norway.

The part of the archipelago visible here is surrounded by cracked sea ice. Clouds around the islands are forming patterns known as cloud streets.

Many of these are strait, parallel lines; however, towards the center there a line of connected curls. This formation is known as a Kármán vortex street. The repeating pattern of swirling vortices is caused by the unsteady separation of flow of a fluid over bluff bodies.